Naya Tapper at the 2017 Sydney 7s / Photo: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, home to the USA 7s teams, has been active early this year. Last weekend, new USA Rugby Women’s High Performance General Manager Emilie Bydwell assembled athletes in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games pool, and a pre-Sydney 7s camp is currently wrapping up.
A list of the U17 players vying for a spot on the Youth Olympic Games team has not been circulated; however, they’re pictured below with the senior Eagle counterparts. There are many familiar faces, hailing from Hawaii to Pennsylvania, but the full list and final selections will come from USA Rugby. The Games occur Oct. 6-18, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In the meantime, a flashback to 2014, the first year that rugby 7s was contested at the Youth Olympic Games, in Nanjing, China. Coached by current USA 7s coach Richie Walker, the team didn’t have much lead time or international 7s experience – remember that the first Girls High School All-American (GHSAA) 7s teams debuted at the 2015 Las Vegas Invitational. The USA didn’t medal in China but those players have gone on to have great rugby careers, which are still in motion. Members of that 2014 team (below) attend NIRA and DI Elite collegiate programs, represented the GHSAA 7s and 15s teams, became collegiate All-Americans, and two are current Eagles.
2014 Youth Olympic Games – USA
Tess Feury – Penn State, USA 7s and 15s
Haley Langan – Harvard University
Appau Mailau – Vipers Women’s Rugby
Michel Navarro – Central Washington
Dana Olsen – Lindenwood University
Tiffany Person – Lindenwood University
Emily Prentice – Harvard University
Kat Ramage – Dartmouth College
Becca Jane Rosko – Dartmouth College
Richelle Stephens – Lindenwood, Team USA, 2016 Olympics
Danielle Walko-Siua – Notre Dame College
Whitney Wilson – Life University
Intrigue also surrounds the next round of selections for the USA squad heading to the Sydney 7s (Jan. 25-27). Last year in Australia, the Eagles finished second to Canada, and the team is coming off a second-place finish at Dubai 7s in early December.
Walker typically brings a few uncapped 7s players on tour (like Tia Blythe, Abby Gustaitis, Saskia Morgan in Dubai), and there are several young athletes looking for their first USA 7s selection after this week’s camp. Ilona Maher (Quinnipiac), Alena Olsen (Michigan), Neariah Persinger (Tulsa) and Tahlia Brody (New York) are all in Chula Vista alongside the contracted 7s players. Summit’s Cassidy Bargell, one of the most prevalent high school rugby players today, is pushing for a spot, too. Ashlee Byrge (Central Washington) is in southern California on a longer-term basis now that she’s an Army WCAP member. She, too, is looking for a first 7s cap.
Natalie Kosko (New York) and Sylvia Braaten (Twin Cities) are also in camp, and both earned their first 7s caps last season. Between a college 7s championship with Lindenwood and WPL title with New York, Kosko competed at the Clermont-Ferrand 7s stop in France. Braaten, too, had a notable summer. The 15s veteran helped the USA finish fourth at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. She earned her first 7s cap at the 2017 Langford 7s in Canada.
USA Rugby will announced Sydney 7s selections in due course.
